Soups and sauces prepared in powdered, dehydrated form and mixtures of various ingredients, among which are different types of flour, starches, powdered or chopped vegetables, meat extracts, sugar, salts, fat, oil, etc. Such soup and sauce mixes are well known in the art, However it is generally difficult to disperse these dehydrated mixes in hot or boiling water without the formation of lumps. Many attempts have been made to produce a heavy bodied, lump-free soup or sauce having a creamy consistency from such a dehydrated product. Even though these products offer a measure of convenience to the consumer, the prepared products have suffered from one or more additional disadvantages. Some dehydrated products have achieved viscosity or thick consistency through the use of increased amounts of solids in the base product. This method does not achieve a true creaminess and results in clumping, graininess, and other related problems in the soup or sauce. It would therefore be highly desirable to formulate a dehydrated base product which, upon stirring with addition of hot or boiling water, formed a lump-free, thick-bodied soup or sauce that obtained its creaminess from a source other than high solids content, while having a texture and taste similar to a freshly prepared home product.
A further problem observed in dehydrated base products for roux preparation is that, for a number of reasons, including that of a rather short storage life, these products do not lend themselves to large-volume production for stock, nor for production on an industrial scale. There have been many attempts to develop processes for the industrial manufacture of such roux products (Japanese Pat. Nos. 48-26234 and 45-9217, as well as German OS No. 14 17 553) but none of these methods has so far led to a fully satisfactory result, nor to general acceptance for industrial scale production.
The disadvantages described above in known processes are due to the fact that some of the constituents of such products, in particular those which act as starch-based binders, will swell very rapidly in hot water, so that the particles will stick together before they can be dispersed in water. In order to avoid the formation of lumps when these binders are used, powder can be dispersed very gradually in hot water with very thorough mixing, although this method is not particularly effective. To avoid the formation of large agglomerates when the powdered product comes into contact with the hot liquid, binders are used which consist of less rapidly swelling constituents, the only reach the fully hydrated state after a more or less prolonged period, in view of which the product has to be boiled.
Another method which has been used to improve the dispersion of such products in hot water is to coat the particles that are capable of swelling with a fatty or hydrophilic substance, thereby retarding the hydration of the particles and consequently improving their dispersion. However, a creamy consistency in the resulting product is not always found. One process using this method involves the formation of a thick mixture of farinaceous material through the use of water and hot liquid fat, while maintaining the mixture at a sufficient temperature to evaporate moisture and coat the particles with liquid fat. The resulting dough-like mixture is cooled to a temperature at which it reverts to a liquid state, then cooled further to form a plastic mass (U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,710). U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,207, involves the use of a granular mixture comprised of a pre-gelatinized starchy material which is coated with a fat component and with a finely-divided dispersion aid. The fat component consists of an edible fat and an oleophilic surfactant.
Another method which is also used is the granulation method in which the particles are mechanically grated or formed into granules in order to improve the dispersion of the given products in the liquid. This method, however, does not prevent the formation of lumps in hot water. This is due to the fact that the granules are too compact and the ratio between area and weight is too small for the area coming into contact with water to insure rapid dispersion of the constituents present in the granules.
An additional process that is used is called agglomeration, in which particles of the mixture are combined, to some extent, thereby resulting in the desired free flowing properties. An example of agglomeration in which the ingredients capable of agglomerating are coated with fat, is Great Britain Pat. No. 1,254,562, in which a dry soup mix combines a thickening agent with other ingredients to provide body and texture, and the ingredients of the mix are coated with fat which contains an emulsifying agent. In this manner, the coating of fat renders the mixture non-hygroscopic and causes the particles of the mixture to agglomerate, thereby improving flowability.
Another example of agglomeration is U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,337 in which a water-dispersible edible composition is formed by mixing co-agglomerates of a finely-divided non-dispersible material and a silicon dioxide flow agent. The co-agglomerates are then coated with a thin layer of an emulsion of edible fat and glycerol over their external surfaces to increase speed and completeness of dispersion.
The above-described known methods which can be used to produce dehydrated base products do not have the sensory appeal or other desired properties of a well made roux. A roux is a cooked mixture of a starchy material and fat used as a thickening agent in a soup or sauce, which is classically prepared with butter and flour. The preparation of a roux requires a great deal of care, substantial cooking ability and involves a laborious procedure. To duplicate the qualities of a home-made roux in a dehydrated base product requires a substantial improvement in the art.
It can be seen that for improved convenience, a hot or boiling water dispersible base product for soups and sauces that consistently provides a smooth texture which a home-made taste is desirable so that the consumer does not have to follow cumbersome cooking procedures often associated with the preparation of roux to thicken soups or sauces. It is also highly advantageous to have a base product which is suitable for use in soups or sauces while being storage-stable and easy to handle. It would be most beneficial if the base product having these properties could be made by a simple procedure that did not require expensive and cumbersome manufacturing processes. In this invention, a base product for soups and sauces which has the above-described advantages is provided through the use of the process described hereunder.